Love in Seven Days
by Vanilla Secrets
Summary: Mikan Sakura joins a music camp, having high expectations of a happy and enjoyable summer. That is, until Natsume Hyuuga comes into the picture. Chapter 5: That Girl. "Excuse me, but no one calls my girlfriend 'clumsy'."
1. It All Started With Strawberries

**Author's Note: **(April 2011) This story was originally posted two years ago (ha, ha, ha), with the title Seven is Love. This is an edited and reposted version, with changes about the flow of the story but with the plot untouched.

**Disclaimer: **Nuh uh.

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><p><strong>Love in Seven Days<strong>

**Chapter 1: **It All Started With Strawberries

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><p>It was a boring Wednesday afternoon in a little town in Japan, with the sun lazily shining behind the fluffy white clouds, the crisp leaves of the surrounding trees softly moving along the moderate breeze, and the birds chirping above the simple houses cluttered together. No person could be seen lingering around the streets, just lamp posts standing in all its glory. Everyone is probably inside their houses, lazing around. Anyways, it's summer vacation. School was nothing to worry about. There was <em>nothing <em>to worry about.

Well, except for a certain sixteen-year-old.

In a half-organized room in an average household, boringly laying on her bed with a peach-colored Moleskin beside her is a girl with loose auburn curls spreading around her head. With a pen on her hand, she rolls over to face her open notebook, just to glare at some lyrics written on a page for like an eternity, tear it from the notebook, crumple it, and shoot it into a trash bin nearby, obviously failing in her attempt. "Ugh," she managed to let out, twitching her lovely brown eyes. She rolled over again to face the ceiling, and swung her pen between her thumb and forefinger in a rapid manner. "What to write, what to write…" she muttered to herself.

Music has been her passion ever since she was young; probably she was humming tunes already while she was still on her mother's womb! She used pencil cases as microphones as she sang songs she doesn't even know about when she was three, hummed melodies she heard on the radio when she was seven, got her first Walkman when she was ten, was taught how to play the guitar by her middle school classmates, and started to write songs last year. Clearly, music has been with her as she grew up, and she concluded that she will carry her love for it up to her grave.

But _now_, she was having second thoughts if she _really _loved music or not, now that she's having a hard time coming up of something to compose about. Come to think of it, she was not doing anything lately but eat, watch TV, or stare into space. She can't use any of those as inspirations in writing a song. Anyways, who writes songs about eating, watching TV, or moreover, _staring into space_?

Right now she needed something. An adventure. Something that would keep her out of this lazy and boring atmosphere at home, or more like, something that would bring back her motivated and outgoing spirit.

As if on cue, she heard a knock on her bedroom door and a moderately high voice calling out her name.

"Mikan!"

"Yes, Mom?" she called back as she turned her head to the opening door, revealing someone who's a Xerox copy of her, only that she was twenty-three years older and her hair was short and straight.

"You have a call for Hotaru," she said, handing a cordless telephone to her blinking daughter.

"Hotaru? Yay!" she shrieked as she excitedly grabbed the phone away from her mother's hand. After beaming out her thanks to her mom and seeing her smile and leave the room, she puts the phone over her ear. "HOTARU! I miss you _soooooo _much! What's kickin'?"

"You weren't still talking on the phone and yet you managed to make my ears bleed."

Mikan let out a tense laugh as she felt the coldness in her best friend's voice. "Anyway, why'd you call?"

She heard a sigh on the other line. "You busy?"

"Busy? Ha ha. I've been doing practically _nothing _here at home and I'm bored as hell! I wanna drag my bored bum away from here!"

"That's good."

Mikan raised one eyebrow. "Huh? Where's the goodness in that?"

She heard Hotaru sigh for the second time before she answered, "There will be a camp this coming weekend. It's called Alice Summer Music Camp or something—"

"Music camp?"

"Yeah, a music camp. It will be situated somewhere in Kyoto—"

"HOLY MACARONI FREAKING KYOTO YOU'VE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME—"

"_Let me finish_," She heard her friend firmly say, enough for her to press her mouth shut. "And I'm not kidding about the Kyoto thing. It _will _be in Kyoto. It will start this Saturday and it will go on for about seven days. My brother was invited to this event but it seems like he isn't interested so he's passing the invitation to me. He said I can invite friends to come along. And as how you bloody reacted a while ago, I can sense you want to join me."

Silence.

"_Now _I'm finished."

"OF COURSE! Why wouldn't I want to come? I'll go ask Mom and Dad first Oh my gosh I hope they'll allow me! I'll just call you later!"

"Okay." The line went off, but Mikan was (finally) too busy to notice this as she was banging her bedroom door open and rushing down the stairs, screaming the good news to her mom and dad.

* * *

><p>"What the hell took you so long?"<p>

Seeing her black-haired friend glare at her made Mikan shiver a little, as she paced her way to the back of her friend's Volkswagen, dropping her things in the baggage counter. Making _the _Hotaru Imai wait isn't such a good idea.

"Hehe, wasn't able to sleep last night due to excitement!" she squealed at her position. She could imagine Hotaru roll her amethyst orbs. She then turned to see her teary-eyed mother and her father wrapping his arm around her shoulder at the front door.

Seeing them made the brunette pretty sad about her camping trip. Pouting, she ran to her parents to give them a tight hug.

"Be sure to take care, huh, sweetie?"

"Of course, Mom, I will."

"You better behave yourself out there, young lady. We won't be there by your side for a week, so—"

"Yes, Dad. I'm not a kid anymore."

He let out a smile as he rubbed his daughter's hair. "I know, that's why we trust you. Now go and fulfill your dreams, but don't break our trust, eh?"

Mikan smiled at her father's words. _It was nice to have parents like them_, she realized. She kissed his father on the cheek. "I love you, Dad. You too, Mom," she said as she faced both her parents. "Now I gotta go before Hotaru kills me!"

Her parents chuckled as she marched to her friend's car as she joined her on the front seat. She then waved at her parents.

"Bye, Mom, Dad!" Take care!" They both waved back as Hotaru started the engine. Mikan was still looking at her parents when the car started to run slowly. It then gradually gained speed until they were out of her sight.

God, was she going to miss them.

But she was going to somewhere she knows she would enjoy. Imagine, a music camp? There would probably be many people there she could make friends with, and share their love for music! How she longed to express her love for it aside from her cold-hearted best friend (whom she still loved, anyway). Most of all, this managed to bring back her outgoing spirit and energy. Ha, finally.

_This wouldn't be a boring summer, I guess_, she grinned at the thought.

* * *

><p>It has been four hours since Hotaru was driving and all Mikan saw throughout their comforting ride was the picture-perfect scenery along the roadside: mountains and hills covered with lush trees, fluttering birds, lakes and ponds mirroring the cloudless sky drenched with pink and orange tints caused by the setting sun. Even the air didn't scream of pollution. It felt so refreshing to Mikan's senses, being out of the boring and lazy atmosphere at home. Having a smug smile on her face, she stretched her arms out wide, with her right hand released outside the car window and her left hand almost hitting the driving Hotaru.<p>

"IT FEELS GOOD TO BE OUT— OW!" she hollered, only to be hit by a bullet from Hotaru's infamous invention. "Hey! That gun has been around for ages already!"

"It's to keep idiots like you from getting crazier."

"Hmph," she pouted as she turned her head to see again the view from outside. She suddenly noticed a big green sign on the roadside.

"Welcome to— oh hey, Hotaru! We've arrived in Kyoto!"

She only received a grunt from her best friend as a reply, but she didn't mind as she was busy getting excited, for finally, they were almost at their destination.

Minutes after, Hotaru swerved right to a pretty narrow road sandwiched by two rows of large trees, with their bent branches shading the road. Mikan can't help but gape at the beauty her eyes were seeing. Hotaru made a couple of turns before the glistening auburn eyes were caught by the sight of a high wooden gate not too far from them. The Volkswagen then approached the gate and paused in front of it. A middle-aged guard with a bulging tummy and a balding head walked towards them. Without even making him speak, Hotaru handed him a card. He stared at it for a while, then to the two girls inside the car, and then smiled warmly.

"So I see you're here for the camp," he acknowledged, then ran to open the gate.

"Ugh, what else for?" Hotaru mumbled while rolling her eyes. Mikan couldn't help but giggle at what she said. As the gates opened, Hotaru drove forward to get inside the camp site. She then drove a little to a parking lot nearby. Finally, they have parked.

"Hooray! We have arrived!" Mikan exclaimed, stretching her arms.

"Get down, idiot. We still have to go to the reception," Hotaru said as she got out of the car and closed the door, leaving the blinking Mikan inside.

"Hey, Hotaru, wait!" the brunette remarked as she also got out of the car and followed her friend at the back, who was already getting her things out.

* * *

><p>It wasn't a long walk to the reception booth, good thing for Mikan who was having a difficult time carrying her bags and her guitar altogether. The reception booth was a small one, though it had a large banner on top of it with "WELCOME TO THE ALICE SUMMER MUSIC CAMP!" written on it. Inside the booth was a man dressed in… ladylike clothes? He had blonde hair that reached up his shoulders and dancing purple eyes. And he had a warm smile on his face as Mikan and Hotaru neared him.<p>

"Good evening! Welcome to the Alice Summer Music Camp!—"

"Yes, yes. Banner."

He let out a nervous laugh at what the amethyst-eyed girl had said.

"Oh, please excuse my best friend, S-Sir, for her attitude is naturally like this. Heehee," he saw a brunette talking beside the cold one, who shot a glare at her.

"Oh, it's okay. And your names are?"

"Hotaru Imai."

"Mikan Sakura!"

"Oh, haha, I'm Narumi," he said cheerfully as he began to scan a large hardbound notebook. "Your cabin's number is… 16," he continued as he then pointed to a group of wooden houses nearby, "and here are your keys. Your other roommates are already there."

"Roommates?" Mikan asked with eyes widen open as she received the keys, which Hotaru immediately snatched.

"Yes. Each cabin is fit for four people so you could take time to mingle with each other!"

"Oh, golly! Isn't that great, Hotaru?" Mikan beamed out, turning to her best friend who just rolled her eyes. "Thanks, Sir Narumi!" she cried out as she and Hotaru started to gather their things and walk out towards their cabin.

* * *

><p>They didn't have a hard time finding their cabin, thanks to the rooms arranged in rows and in chronological order. They were all made of wood, with wooden doors and walls, except for the translucent glass windows and aluminum roofs. All cabins have a lamp post beside them, which gave campers sufficient light outside, especially at that time of the night. Hotaru and Mikan then made way to a cabin with the number 16 etched on its wooden door. They both climbed to a little set of stairs which led to the cabin's wooden balcony. Eventually, Hotaru knocked on the door.<p>

Seconds after, the door opened, revealing a girl with eyes that matched her straight navy-blue hair.

"Oh! Our roommates have arrived!" she exclaimed. In an instant, a girl with curly pink hair and light blue eyes appeared behind her. She let out a big friendly smile.

"Welcome!" they both said, and the door was opened wide, giving Mikan and Hotaru a view of what's inside the cabin: a cozy living room with a couch, two bean bags, a radio set, and a wooden center table that matched with the floor; a kitchen behind the living room; four doors across both rooms, which they thought led to their bedrooms; and two doors at the near end of the cabin, which led to the toilet and the shower room.

"This room is sweet!" Mikan announced happily.

"You bet!" the pink-hair girl reacted. "I love the kitchen the most. Oh! I'm Anna Umenomiya, and this is my twin sister, Nonoko," she continued, introducing the navy-haired girl, who waved her hand rapidly and greeted, "Hello!"

"Hi, too! I'm Mikan Sakura!" the brunette replied.

"Hotaru Imai," the amethyst-eyed answered. "I'm hungry."

The twins sweatdropped, while Mikan let out a laugh.

"I saw a cafeteria nearby. After all, it's dinner time, so it would be nice if we would now eat dinner there."

"Well, shall we go then?" Anna said.

Mikan smiled. "Yeah, sure! I'm pretty starved, too, anyway!"

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><p>The cafeteria was a spacious one. It was a wooden one, too, which sheltered about twenty-five wooden tables with four wooden stools each, and a large food counter across the glass entrance. The cafeteria was jampacked with so many people, from ones who are getting food from the counter, to some sitting in the tables, graciously eating their dinner, but it didn't really take long for Hotaru, Anna, Nonoko, and Mikan to grab some food and find a vacant table. The brunette relished on a chicken sandwich, the twins dug in on mixed vegetables, and Hotaru ate a bottle of crab roe, a trait of hers that Mikan found pretty odd. As she continued to observe the rest of the cafeteria while munching on her dinner, she noticed a girl with dark brown tresses, walking while carrying a bowl of red treats.<p>

Strawberries.

In an instant, Mikan slightly drooled, showing that she was starting to crave for some.

"Uhm, excuse me," Mikan called for the dark-haired girl, who then stopped on her tracks to face her. "Would you mind telling me where you got those strawberries?"

The girl then smiled in a friendly manner. "I got them in the dessert section," she replied as she pointed to somewhere near the food counter.

Mikan eventually jumped out from her chair ecstatically. "Thanks" she exclaimed to the dark-haired girl, who smiled again in return and walked away. "I'll go get some strawberries!" she then said to her roommates before dashing out to the dessert section.

The brunette was quite surprised to barely see people when she arrived at her destination, but she was more astounded to see that there were only a few left of her favorite fruit.

To be specific, there were only seven pieces left.

_Well, it's better than nothing_, she thought, as she stretched out her arm to grab the bowl containing the strawberries, only to see a hand about to lay itself on the bowl.

Mikan, with bewilderment evident on her face, turned her head to see who owned the _distracting _hand who was, surprisingly, a guy. She lifted her head a little, just for her sight to land on a face that made her gape unintentionally. He had raven hair which was messed up but in a darn good way, a well-sculptured nose, and high cheekbones. But what made her stare was his crimson eyes who were staring at her own auburn ones. Hers were plain boring, but his were a sight to see, something captivating, amazing, breathtaking. Something that made her mind go blank for a moment.

To say that he was handsome was totally an understatement.

But she wouldn't let someone as… _indescribable _as this tall guy, interrupt her from getting something she was craving to have, would she?

"Uhh, sorry," she started to speak, "but I had my eyes on the strawberries first."

She saw his perfectly-carved eyebrows (_Damn, why does every thing on his face have to be perfect?_) meet.

"Who said you had your eyes first on _my _strawberries?"

Mikan raised her eyebrows at what she heard. _What the hell? This boy is too gorgeous to be true, not to mention his voice made my ears go wild! But I can't believe… he could be this arrogant! _"Excuse me?"

Not seeing how the brunette reacted, he simply took the bowl of strawberries into his hands, got two red pieces, and popped them into his mouth.

"Hey!" she shrieked. "Those are mine!"

He cocked his eyebrow. "Mine," he remarked casually as he got another strawberry and ate it.

"Ugh mine!"

"Nuh uh," he uttered as he ate two more.

She let out a loud, frustrated sigh. "Okay, I give up," she declared while throwing her hands up as if admitting defeat. "But… can I have just one piece?"

"Hmm, let me think. No," he answered dryly as he chewed on another strawberry.

"Why you—"

"Hey, Nat! We should get going!"

Mikan tilted her head to see the direction behind the raven-haired guy's back, only to find a blonde boy, who was as tall as him, calling out to the boy who just stole the _fruits _she claimed a while ago as _hers_. She turned back to him who, much to her despair, showed the last strawberry to her teasingly, shot it into mid-air, and made it fall straight into his open mouth.

Mikan had hers also open, only because of the scene she just saw.

He then turned his back on her, but had his face turn to her side, flashing a triumphant smirk. He placed his hands inside the pockets of his jeans after that and started to walk away…

… leaving a certain brunette behind him burning up in anger.

"Argh! ARROGANT JERK!" she eventually shouted, only to receive no reaction from him. He only faded away from her sight. She had her jaws gritted. She had a gut feeling that having that bastard around, this music camp that she thought would be wonderful for her, wouldn't be like what she thought it would be.

Oh, definitely not.

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><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>There. :) Finally better than the previous one, haha. Whadyathink?


	2. Off To Danger Zone

**Author's Note:** (April 2011) Edited and reposted version.

**Disclaimer: **Nuh uh.

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><p><strong>Love in Seven Days<strong>

**Chapter 2:** Off to Danger Zone

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><p>It may be summer in Japan, but it was a cold Friday night in Kyoto. With towering cherry blossom trees with their branches dancing with the breeze that could bring goosebumps to one's skin, and white dots of twinkling stars and the pure white moon shimmering behind the thin layer of clouds, it was certainly an atmosphere peaceful enough for a deep slumber.<p>

But not in a camping site in the heart of Kyoto, in a little cabin, behind a door with the number 16 etched on it, for four teenage girls sitting together in a living room, for a girl with loose auburn locks and brown eyes.

Brown eyes radiating infuriation.

"That brat! I'm gonna punch him straight in the face when we meet again! Oh, he deserves a roundhome kick, too—"

"Mikan, I think what you meant is _roundhouse _kick…"

"Ugh, whatever, Nonoko. But I won't forget the attitude he just showed to me!"

"Mikan, it's okay. They're just strawberries, anyway. It's no big deal. Mmm, maybe there will be _more _strawberries for breakfast tomorrow. It'll be fine!..."

"Mmm, yeah, Anna. _But then _he basically _ruined _my night! I was having an awesome time then, boom! He just appeared out of nowhere to _snatch _something I was dying to have! Ugh! To think he was so gorgeous—"

"GORGEOUS? How come you never told us?"

"Wait, you're now on _his _side on this fight, Anna?"

"Oops, sorry about that."

"Well, yeah, he was so gorgeous and all but we'll better scratch that because he was so, so arrogant! And selfish! Yes! A rude lion and a selfish pig rolled into one! In short, a brat! An insensitive brat! An insensitive brat who is _sooo _getting into my nerves—"

PLONK! BAM! A bullet was shot into Mikan's forehead, sending her down flat on the wooden floor. The twins turned their heads together to see who caused it, only to sweatdrop seeing Hotaru with a funny-looking gun on her hand, who turned to her _dear _best friend to speak.

"Idiot. Stop making those moronic statements and silly facial expressions. You're just wasting your energy blabbering about gibberish. And the word 'brat' is for girls only, stupid."

"Oww," Mikan uttered as she rubbed her sore forehead. "Well you weren't there to see how he treated me!"

"Whatever. But would you allow your night, or the whole camp perhaps, to be ruined for you just because of that nonsense? Forget about it, dummy," Hotaru remarked wryly as she stood up from her seat.

"Wait, where you going?"

"To sleep. You wouldn't want to have eyebags on the first day of the camp, would you?"

"Yeah, Hotaru's right. We should all go to sleep," Nonoko agreed. "A big day's waiting for us tomorrow, anyway."

"Yeah! I'm so excited!" Anna exclaimed as she stood together with Nonoko.

"Me too!" Mikan beamed out as she stood and dusted her pants, as if she didn't just complain about something.

So off the four girls went to change into comfortable pajamas, brush their teeth, and proceeded to their respective bedrooms as they greeted each other a good night. Mikan was glad to find a cozy bedroom to sleep in, with complete facilities plus a soft bed to lie on. Yet, she couldn't forget how that haughty brat disrupted her supposed-to-be good mood. To hell with that guy.

Speaking of hell, she suddenly remembered those crimson pools she had her eyes at a while ago. Those dazzling crimson pools…

No, no! She must _not _be dazzled by those eyes, those eyes owned by an arrogant and self-centered bastard.

But yeah, maybe she should just forget about this. Hotaru was right. She wouldn't allow this camp to be ruined for her just because of a simple matter, right? Right. She was here in this camp not to annoy herself to bits, but to have fun, and to enjoy her love for music.

Brushing the negative thoughts aside, she didn't notice her eyelids close slowly to a peaceful slumber.

* * *

><p>"Mikan. Mikan, wake up!"<p>

"Hmmph." Mikan slowly opened her brown eyes as she heard someone calling out her name (who was like an alarm clock to her, much to her dismay). Everything seemed blurry for her vision, so she rubbed her eyes while still lying down, seeing then a clear view of the bedroom wall. At the same time, she felt like her hip was being shaken. She turned her head to the other side, only to see Nonoko clad in a checkered pink-and-black polo and denim shorts.

"Mmm, morning, Nonoko," Mikan greeted as she rose to a sitting position. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Uhh, Mikan," Nonoko said with one of her eyebrows raised. "It's the first day of the camp…"

And it took the brunette moments to process the information in her mind before she shot her eyes wide open and before she stormed out of her bedroom, still in pajamas and her hair in tangles.

"FREAKY MACARONI WHY DIDN'T YOU WAKE ME UP?" she screamed while on her bedroom door.

Anna who was sitting in the living room with Hotaru, replied, "Well Nonoko's been trying to wake you up since—"

But Anna wasn't able to finish her words because Mikan already grabbed her bath towel and rushed to the bathroom, screaming a "Oh my gosh are we late?" while doing so. With this, the twins laughed, and Hotaru muttered, "Idiot," while sipping on a cup of coffee.

* * *

><p>A moment later, the four roommates were already in the cafeteria, enjoying a hearty breakfast: Nonoko and Anna got lasagna, Hotaru had baked salmon, and Mikan ate bacon and eggs paired with fried rice and, luckily, a small bowl of strawberries. Anna sure knows how to predict, somehow.<p>

So far, she was having a marvelous morning: realizing they weren't late at all for the camp's first general assembly which will still be happening later, much to her surprise (and relief) and her roommates' amusement at her reaction; eating a delicious breakfast to start the day; and at last having a bowl of her favorite red treats. Most of all, she hadn't seen the person—scratch that—the _brat _who spoiled her mood last night. Okay, it felt like bliss not feeling that irritating aura of his, but somehow, she can't help but wonder where is now, what he is doing…

Wait, wait, wait, _wait_. Why was she even thinking all of these about the _brat_? Who was he to her, anyway? Oh yeah, he is, as she quoted what she said last night, "an insensitive brat who is _sooo_ getting into her nerves." Oh was she _so _proud of herself and her self-regarded epic lines.

And yeah, she would still call him a brat, not minding what her best friend told her. Regardless if he's a he, the nickname still suited him.

After all of them finished their meal, they all stood up to proceed to the camp site's social hall. Thanks to a map of the camp site Hotaru had, they managed to arrive at the venue on time. It had wooden walls, a wooden floor, a grand wooden door; it was mainly comprised of wood just like their cabins, but it was way, way more spacious. In it are twenty wooden benches separated equally through a center aisle, and an elevated platform in front, topped with a long table with seven chairs behind it. There were still a few people in the hall, so Mikan guessed it would still take time before the assembly to start. The four of them then grabbed the bench at the right side at the very back of the hall and waited.

After moments of staring into space, though, the brunette got bored, so she decided to look around the area. It seemed that more people have arrived. There was a group of girls with remarkable (but too girly for Mikan's taste) sense of fashion and stunning beauties, which made the boys around them drool, much to her slight disgust. There were a bunch of noticeable ones, too: rockstars in gothic black attire; girls in KPop-inspired outfits; simple, shy ones in the corner; loud ones talking to their seatmates animatedly. Yes, they may be different in some way, but it can't be denied, they all have one thing in common. _I wish I can be friends with them, _she thought.

Too busy with her observations and thoughts, she didn't notice more than half of the female population inside filling the room with squeals as a group of boys showed up. As they made their way inside, their refined stride just made the girls shriek more, which awakened Mikan to her senses. Bewildered on what the commotion was all about, she looked around to search the source, only to have her eyes landing on the last figure she wanted to see.

A figure with disheveled raven hair, crimson eyes who were glancing at her, and thin lips curving into a smirk as he approached her, his companions tagging along.

Bloody hell.

"Hey," he said monotonously, though the annoying smirk was still plastered on his face. "Looking for me?"

"Huh. _Dream on_," she replied while rolling her eyes, then earned a snicker from him. "And seriously, how dare you have the guts to talk to me despite what you did last night?"

"Huh?" He faked an innocent look in reply. "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Gasping in disbelief, she stood up from her seat to face the damned guy in front of her. "Well, you just _stole _my precious strawberries and _ruined _my night because of that! You being a rude and selfish pig annoyed me a lot, and now your conceitedness and foolishness just increased my infuriation! Now won't you just cut the crap out of your attitude and leave me to enjoy my happy summer alone?"

…

And so the room was filled with silence as every person in the social hall turned to notice the heated conversation between the hot raven-haired guy and a certain exasperated brunette with shaking fists.

With this, he snickered again. "How stupid."

She gasped again at his words. "What did you say—"

Just when her twin roommates were about to stop her from strangling the bastard, seven grown-ups entered the hall and proceeded to the platform, leading the others to go back to their seats. The bastard just grinned and went to a vacant seat along with his companions. Mikan got exasperated even more, good thing Anna and Nonoko were there to calm her down. She took deep breaths as she shoved her thoughts of the brat aside and focused her attention on the people who just came in, including a man with clothes she thought she had seen before, , blond locks, and that familiar cheerful smile.

Oh, yes! How could she forget? He was the man from the reception booth! Wait, what was his name again?

"Hello, campers!" he beamed out as the other grown-ups sat on the chairs on the platform. "Welcome to the Alice Summer Music Camp!"

Everyone clapped their hands as a reaction.

"Well, I am Narumi—you can call me Sir Naru if you want!—and these are Sir Misaki, Sir Nodacchi, Miss Serina, Sir Reo, Sir Jinno and Sir Serio," he continued as he introduced the rest. "We are the persons-in-charge of the camp."

The campers oooh-ed and aaah-ed at the introduction, including Mikan who had her eyes solely at the persons-in-charge. Sir Naru and Sir Nodacchi seemed to be friendly enough, but shw wasn't sure about the others, especially the one with big glasses. He even brought a stick with him as if he would spank someone! She tucked her hands safely at the thought. Now what was his name? Oh yes, Sir Jinno. She had to be careful next time when she would hear that name.

She didn't hear what Sir Nar said afterwards because of the things wandering in her mind, but she guessed it was about the rules and regulations of the camp. Well she had Hotaru to ask about that.

"Well, before we get a head start, Miss Serina will hand to you your name tags with the help of Sir Misaki!"

As Narumi said this, Miss Serina stood up from her seat, together with Sir Misaki, who was carrying a large box with him. She called out random names as she pulled out name tags from the box, handing them to the respective campers who approached her. Anna already got her name tag, too, and it was cute in Mikan's opinion. Well she likes cute things, anyway.

"Mikan Sakura," Miss Serina called out. Mikan stood up from her seat and went towards the platform, receiving her name tag.

"Natsume Hyuuga," Miss Serina called out again. As Mikan, walked towards her seat, she saw the brat stand up and walk towards the platform as they crossed paths on the center aisle, she can't help but think how mysterious his name sounded. And good…

Wait, no. he's her enemy of some sort, so she should think how _ugly _his name is. Yes, yes. His name is ugly, his name is ugly. Ugly. Ugly.

Mikan was already on her seat but Miss Serina was still calling out names, until the time came when all of the campers' names were already called.

"Alright!" Sir Narumi exclaimed. "So since the names tags were all given to the owners, we shall have our first activity! Are you guys ready?"

The campers cheered.

"Great! Let's now head to the activity field!

* * *

><p>The activity field was located just behind the social hall. It was a vast grassy area surrounded with trees Mikan didn't know. It was like a soccer field in appearance, minus the goals.<p>

"Okay, campers! Gather up!" Sir Narumi cried out, clapping and waving his hands, as everyone drew closer to him, except the other persons-in-charge who settled themselves on benches at the edge of the field.

"This activity will promote the spirit of camaraderie among us and somehow, we would get to be comfortable with each other! Isn't that great? So for our first activity, we will be having a game of tag!"

The campers, in an instant, made expressions implying how "common" and "boring" and "old-school" the game was.

"Buuuut," Sir Narumi added, seeming to understand the reaction of the campers, "since there are so many of you playing, we are giving a little twist to this game. The people the _it _catches will be joining him or her in tagging the others. So as the game goes on, the number of _it_'s increases."

Everyone then murmured words of satisfaction.

"So are you guys ready?"

"Yes!"

"Okay! Before we start, we'll have to choose first our first _it_! So… would someone like to volunteer?"

Unfortunately for Narumi. No one said a word. No one raised their hand.

"Oh, ahahaha," Narumi sweatdropped. "Well then, I'll have to join you. I'll be the first _it_! So let's all scatter 'round the field! Chop chop!"

The campers then scattered round the field just like what Sir Narumi had instructed them. But Mikan was busy clinging onto her stoic best friend's arm, not letting go.

"Let go of me, dummy. I'm not joining."

"But why?" Mikan asked, pouting.

"That game bores me."

"Eh? But Sir Naru had added a twist already!"

"Doesn't matter. It will still bore me."

"Oww, but Hotaru—"

"Would you let go of me or would you like another bullet from the gun you despise?" Hotaru warned rather dryly. With this, the brunette let go reluctantly, making Hotaru walk towards somewhere isolated from the rest of the campers, leaving Mikan pouting even more. From out of nowhere, Anna and Nonoko appeared.

"Hey, Mikan. What's wrong? The game is starting," Anna said.

"Hotaru can be so mean sometimes…"

Nonoko turned to see where Hotaru went, then patted Mikan's back softly. "It's okay. Maybe she's tired or something. Let's go, the game is about to start."

Mikan heaved a big sigh as a reply and joined the twins. Sir Narumi then gave his cue.

"Okay! On your mark! Get set! Go!"

And so everyone started to run around as Narumi started to tag campers. It didn't take long for the _it_'s to grow in number, and eventually, for the game to grow intense.

It also didn't take long for Mikan to be tagged by some random stranger, so she started to scan the activity field while running around in circles, finding a camper she could tag. But all she saw were people running around escaping the wrath of the taggers, taggers reaching out to other campers as if trying to catch them, the persons-in-charge calmly seated within the sidelines, a raven-haired lad lazily sitting under the shade of a tree…

Wait, _raven-haired_?

Just as when she thought of whether it was the brat she saw, the so-called raven-haired lad stood up from his spot and started to stroll away, revealing his tall, lean stature.

Oh, right. So it _was _the brat.

Target sighted.

She scampered away towards the brat, but then he glanced suddenly to her direction. Busted. He ran in moderate speed, away from the brunette.

"Think you can catch me?" he hollered, his smirks still visible for her. _Just great._

"That's what I'm proving to you, you bastard!"

And so she gathered all her strength and ran to him, who also ran away into the activity field they sped around in circles, with Mikan making desperate attempts of catching him, but to no avail. She had stretched her arms but he would turn away as if it was a piece of cake. She tried swishing her arms alternately, but to no use. She had tried to get closer to him but he would simply run away faster.

She stopped on her tracks and was already panting, losing her patience. He did the same and turned towards her.

"What? Grew tired already?"

Not to mention his statement got into her nerves.

But she wouldn't back down that easily.

"That's what you think, you jerk!"

In an instant, she ran towards the brat in full speed, seizing the chance. Unexpectedly, he turned around towards the side avoiding her touch, making her run through him and go out of balance. Tilting in slow motion to her doom, she managed to land her sight on a puddle less than seven feet away from her.

_No, no, not there!_

But the gods weren't there to answer her plea. She fell on her back, her feet facing the sky, landing on the dreaded puddle.

The campers stopped tagging and the persons-in-charge stood up from their seats, witnessing the rather drastic scene. Humiliated, Mikan, stood up and made efforts to wipe the dirt away from her blouse and her denim skirt. The brat was just there, staring at her with no emotion written on his face. She started to fix her unruly hair when everyone gathered around the brat and her, checking if she was alright. She nodded in reply. She was about to decide to just forget what happened, until the brat came closer to her and whispered the most terrible sentence in her ear.

"Didn't see it coming… _polka dots_."

Mikan didn't understand what he meant, but then the words processed into her mind, and within seconds, she had a face that can not be spelled.

"**!**"

After the ear-damaging shriek she let out, she pushed the smirking bastard hard and ran away from the confused crowd. She heard the twins calling out for her, but she didn't turn back. It didn't matter anymore.

Her pride was stepped on already by some jerk, and the same person got a glimpse of her underwear.

Now where was the happy summer she expected? No, it wasn't there. It flew out, carried away by the warm wind roaming around Kyoto.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So how was it? :) I need your comments, guys, compliment or criticism! It wouldn't hurt to leave a review, right? Right? :D There's the button!


	3. Of Glitter and Proposals

**Author's Note:** (May 2011) Edited and reposted version.

**Disclaimer: **Nuh uh.

* * *

><p><strong>Love in Seven Days<strong>

**Chapter 3: **Of Glitter and Proposals

* * *

><p>She had never been that humiliated in her entire existence.<p>

She had always believed in the word "self-esteem." It was what her mom instilled on her since the time she learned how to speak. Or that's what she thought. But heck, she was even renowned as Miss Congeniality in their school! Not that she was bragging, but she always met every one with a smile on her face, be it the convenience store cashier, the waiter in a fastfood chain, a student in their school, a stranger lingering down the street, not minding what kind of person she was interacting with, not minding if they would judge her or whatever. She was always confident with herself. She was never ashamed.

Not until her ego was stooped off during the hell of an incident moments ago.

"This is his fault. This is his entire fault."

Now Mikan was here, mumbling to herself while sulking in one of the corners of her room in their cabin, trying to erase the devastating memory off her mind.

"_Didn't see that coming… polka dots."_

But unfortunately, life wasn't making it easy for her.

_Polka dots… Polka dots…_

Hell, if only it was. She would bang her head on her bedroom wall so she can have, like, amnesia or something, but yeah, she wasn't that stupid to do that. But what else can she do for those lingering thoughts to go away?

_Polka dots… Polka dots…_

That was it. The last straw.

"Damn that perverted bastard!"

As if on cue, she heard the cabin's front door slam open, and then her bedroom door, revealing Anna and Nonoko with concerned looks on their faces, and Hotaru with her usual stoic expression.

"Mikan! What happened?"

"Was there something wrong?"

"We saw you running like a stupid idiot after you fell down a puddle. But I can see that isn't the reason why you're sulking."

_Hotaru. She's damn too smart, _she thought as she got up from where she was sitting, wiping off dust from her denim skirt, which still had the stains she got from the puddle. Just great.

"Really, guys. It was nothing," she waved her hands in the air, then put it down instantly. "Well… it _was _something, but I'd rather not talk about it."

The twins both nodded, understanding Mikan's explanation. Hotaru cocked one of her eyebrows, though, like she wasn't contented with what her best friend said.

"But yeah," Mikan threw one fist in the air, "I just can't forget what that strawberry snatcher did! He is _so _gonna pay!"

The twins sighed in frustration, while Hotaru's expression shifted to a look of slight amusement.

"But it would have been better though if you didn't run away, Mikan," Nonoko said. "We still had a bunch of activities after you ran off."

"Yeah. Oh! Speaking of activities," Anna exclaimed, suddenly remembering something, "Sir Naru said we're going to have another activity after lunch, and we're told to bring our instruments if we have one."

Mikan's determined expression was replaced by a look of excitement. "Oh! That's pretty cool! I can bring my guitar!"

"No way!" Nonoko cried out. "You play the guitar?"

"I'm not kidding!" Mikan turned to her navy-eyed roommate.

"That's sweet! I play the bass guitar!"

"Oh my gosh you're kidding!" Mikan squealed as she jumped up and down with Nonoko. "Oh, how about you, Anna? What do you play?"

"I play the keyboards," Anna replied with a smile on her face.

"That's nice!" Mikan reacted. "Hotaru plays the drums!"

Anna and Nonoko, with mouths agape, seemed to be surprised with their roommate's revelation. "_Hotaru _plays the _drums_?"

Mikan blinked twice. "Y-Yeah…"

The twins both turned their heads to Hotaru's direction. "It's… _unexpected _of you to have such talent, Hotaru!"

Hotaru just grunted in reply. Mikan stifled a laugh. "That's what most people say to her. But hey! Isn't this cool? We could form a band or something!"

The twins turned to Mikan with excitement evident on their faces. "Yeah!"

Now it was the three of them jumping up and down with smug looks.

"Before we even talk about forming a band," Hotaru interrupted, "we should eat lunch first. I'm hungry already." She then walked away and closed the bedroom door.

"Hotaru can be such a killjoy," Mikan pouted. The twins laughed.

"But I guess Hotaru's right," Anna said. "I'm pretty starved, too!"

Moments after, Mikan's clothes were changed and the three of them followed Hotaru, letting out giggles along the way.

* * *

><p>The aroma of delectable lunch foor met Hotaru, Anna, Nonoko and Mikan when they opened the entrance door of the cafeteria, making them hungrier than ever. They then proceeded to join the line of campers making their way towards the foor area, grabbing treats to satisfy their growling tummies. After the four of them finished their turns, they turned their heads left and right, looking for a vacant table.<p>

"Oh, there!" Anna pointed to a table labeled with Number 7. They scurried down towards the said table. Nonoko and Mikan leaned their guitars on the side of the table for convenience, and the four of them dug in.

After a couple of bites, the entrance door abruptly swished open, and four girls in clothes that spelled "shining shimmering splendid" walked down the aisle in pointed high heels as if they were runway models in New York City. The campers in the cafeteria stopped munching to stare at the scenario, including the Umenomiya twins, the stoic crab-eater and the brunette. Mikan scowled, thinking if she had seen this scene last time. Memories of the first assembly then went flashing in her mind. Oh, yes. They were the group of girls the boys drooled about.

And _that _said group was striding towards their table.

One of them, with short black hair permed on the tips and emerald eyes showing fury, walked ahead from the others, like she was the leader of the union. When she reached Mikan's table, she banged her hands on it, receiving shrieks from the observing crowd.

"Just what the heck are _you _doing in _our _table?"

Just when the twins were about to say their apologies and grab their trays to transfer to another table, Mikan faced the flaring girl, not forgetting her motto about "confidence."

"_Your _table? Who says this is _your _table? _We _got this table first, for your information."

The crowd gasped in disbelief, as if Mikan just committed a crime, along with the girl in front of her. "What the hell?"

"What 'what the hell'? This table doesn't even have _your _names on it. It's only etched with Number 7, for the love of macaroni!"

The girl let out a laugh of annoyance. "I think you _don't _even know whom you're talking to." And with a snap of her slender fingers, her companions went beside her and they formed a straight line, and in an instant, they formed what Hotaru would call "silly" poses.

"Kyoko Minabe!" said a girl with cropped brown hair and maroon eyes.

"Satomi Izawa!" exclaimed a girl with long navy blue hair and blue orbs.

"Riika Takenouchi!" a redhead with maroon eyes cried out.

"And I am Sumire Shouda!"

They switched to another pose and cried out, "We are the It Girls of Okinawa!"

Loud cheers and wolf whistles from the boys followed, together with screams of appreciation and praise from the girls. Hotaru raised an eyebrow, and the Umenomiya twins sweatdropped.

But the fearless brunette just stood up from her chair, looking more irritated than before. "It Girls of Okinawa? Like I'd still doesn't give you the right to move us out of this table."

The crowd stopped from their antics to gasp for the second time. The emerald-eyed stopped from posing and stared at Mikan incredulously. "What did you say?"

"Well," Mikan flipped her hair and stared at her with the same intensity, "I was just saying that this cafeteria—and the whole camp site in general—is public. It is owned by every person staying here, not you alone."

That earned her a glare from Shouda girl, who came closer to her swiftly and shrieked "Why you bitch!" She then got a handful of brunette hair strands and pulled it extremely hard. Mikan screamed in pain, and seized black strands in return, starting a hair-pulling fight. The boys in the cafeteria just gathered around them and cheered for Sumire, while the twins trying to stop the commotion. Hotaru was about to pull out her Moron Gun in annoyance, when a middle-aged man in thick spectacles arrived in the area and saw the uproar.

"What is going on in here?"

Hearing the strict-sounding voice, the crowd turned to the entrance door, with the brunette and the It Girl letting go of each other's hair. Mikan turned to the direction of the door too, seeing the figure of the person-in-charge she told herself she should be careful of.

Sir Jinno.

"I repeat. What is _this _all about?" he asked seriously, tapping his stick on his hand. This gave shivers to every one's spine.

"Uh, n-nothing happened, S-Sir Jinno!" Sumire answered in a rather disgustingly cute tone. "J-Just a spider crawling on every one's feet."

Sir Jinno glowered at her for a while, then to the rest of the people in the cafeteria. "I hope this wouldn't happen again. You don't know how _fierce _I can be in giving punishments. Understood?"

"Y-Yes, Sir Jinno…"

With this, the stern person-in-charge went out of the cafeteria, leaving the campers heaving a sigh of relief and going back to their tables. Sumire then made a step closer to Mikan and whispered.

"Be grateful… for now." She snickered and walked away. The other three tailed along like they were her minions, and off again they strode like models. Without delay, Nonoko and Anna rushed to Mikan's aid.

"Mikan, are you alright?"

"That scene was pretty intense if you ask me."

"Aside from having a painful head due to that awfully-dressed witch, I'm alright." Mikan replied, fixing her messy hair. _Now that girl is another person I should be careful of, _she thought.

* * *

><p>Done eating lunch, Nonoko and Mikan grabbed their guitars and followed Anna and Hotaru out of the cafeteria, with Mikan behind. Just as when she was finally out of the entrance door, her hand was grabbed, which was followed by her mouth being covered by a warm big hand, then her being pulled away from her roommates. Her friends not noticing what happened to her, she tried screaming for help, but her voice was left muffled by the hand covering her mouth.<p>

Damn it. Is this Shouda's revenge of what she did? Is she going to be kidnapped? Is she going to be brought to a place far, far away from civilization? Is she going to be tortured? To be killed? Is this the end of her life? Of her dreams? _Oh please let it not be, _she wished.

But she realized she was just exaggerating. She was brought to the outsides of a storage room, away from the sight of the public. She was finally released, but rather forcefully, which sent her to the ground. She panted. As she turned up to face the person who brought her in this situation, she saw the face of the guy she least expected to see.

The brat. Natsume Hyuuga. The name she called "ugly," even though it really wasn't. No, wait, scratch that.

But… why him?

"You… You brat! Just what the heck is the reason you dragged me here? It better be a good one."

"Don't you have any other names to call me? 'Brat' is just for girls. It makes me sound so gay."

Wait, have she ever heard of that statement before? She dismissed the thought. "Well, your name's pretty ugly for my taste so I gave you a more… _suitable_ one."

He smirked. Instead of a negative reaction she expected, he just smirked. "Nobody has ever told me I had an _ugly _name before. As far as I remember, when girls hear my name, they start bowing down in worship."

"Well, I just did. And for sure, I'm not part of the girls you're referring to."

He chuckled to himself. "You're pretty interesting."

Mikan raised a brow and sent him a glare. Her? Interesting? God, something is definitely wrong with his mind. "Why are you suddenly saying those things to me?"

As a reply, he offered his hand to her while looking away, as if giving her some help to stand up. But she refused inwardly and stood up on her own, dusting her denim pants off.

"You were pretty lucky to be offered some help by a person like me."

"How conceited," she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms at the same time. "And I wasn't asking for your help. I was asking for an answer to my question, you idiot."

He turned to face her, "I saw your fight with that obnoxious It Girl."

"Yeah, like you'd actually care."

"Well it saved me from the terror of annoying fan girls. All of the attention was drawn towards you."

"Yeah, all of the _unwanted _attention was drawn to me, and I got a headache from all those hair-pulling, and I got a warning from Sir Jinno. Thanks a lot," she remarked sarcastically.

"You're welcome." He smirked again.

Her jaw gritted in displeasure. _Damn this guy._

"Because of that, I have a proposal to offer."

She cocked an eyebrow again. "Proposal?"

He scowled. "Do I have to repeat myself?"

"Well this is getting weird, you know," she replied, making hand gestures. "I mean, dragging me into this deserted place just for a 'proposal'?"

He just stared at her nonchalantly. After she waited for decades for his reply, he uttered a sentence she didn't expect to hear.

"Pretend to be my girlfriend."

Why hello there, jaw-dropping statement of the decade.

"WHAT?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I was contemplating if I should join the previous Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 together, but it's kinda long. But if I separate them, this Chapter 3 is too short for me. :| But yeah, I ended up separating them.

Tell me what you think of this chapter, though. :D


	4. A Good Start, Or Not

**Author's Note: **(May 2011) Edited and reposted version.

**Disclaimer: **Nuh uh. And that includes the songs used in this chap.

* * *

><p><strong>Love in Seven Days<strong>

**Chapter 4: **A Good Start… Or Not

* * *

><p>"Pretend to be my girlfriend."<p>

Little birds flying around the heart of Kyoto continued to chirp joyfully. The summer sun's rays made way through the thin sheet of cirrus clouds to the ends of the earth. Trees began to sway gracefully with the wind. It was a nice scenery to picture in mind.

Except that there was an auburn-haired girl, with mouth agape and deep brown eyes wide in shock.

"What? Are you kidding me? After you snatched my strawberries and take a sneak peak at my underwear and drag me away from my friends, you ask me to _pretend _to be your girlfriend? Why hello, world!" she exclaimed as she looked around, as if talking to the world in general. "This guy in front of me is out of his mind!"

He chuckled again. "I won't care about your stupid remarks just as long as you say yes."

"Huh," she sarcastically answered. "No."

Before Natsume could come up of a cocky remark, a speaker from the corner of the storage room emitted a sound that startled them both.

"Calling the attention of the campers, the activity in the social hall will start in a moment, so please proceed to the venue in ten minutes. Again…"

"It's Miss Serina," Mikan mumbled, recognizing the voice in the speaker, who repeated the instructions. She got her guitar lying on the ground and started to walk away, if only the bastard didn't grab her wrist to stop her.

"You didn't give me a proper answer," he said wryly.

"Well, isn't a _no _a proper answer for you?" she cried out, releasing herself from his hold and paced away, leaving him to dip his hands into his jeans pockets and to smirk at her direction.

* * *

><p>"Mikan! Where have you been? We noticed you were gone all the sudden and you didn't even tell us!"<p>

"Sorry, Nonoko, I was… in the restroom! Yah! I was in the restroom! Hehe…"

It didn't take long for the brunette to reach the crowded social hall, after times of grumbling about the brat and his so-called proposal. Now that she have thought of it, she had never had a boyfriend ever since. Yes, she had guy friends whether in their neighborhood or in their school, but it was only up to there. Friendship. Anyways, all she thought about in her life was friendship, school, family, music. She had never thought of having a love life, how much more _fantasized _of having a boyfriend.

And now this cocky, arrogant, insert-all-negative-adjectives-here guy in front of her is asking her for him to become one? More like, _pretend _to become one?

Blech. Like she would let that happen. It was crazy. No, insane. That was definitely insane.

Her mind-boggling thoughts were interrupted when she noticed the said guy arrive at the hall, instantly setting his crimson eyes on her as if she was a magnet and his eyesight some piece of metal. She saw him sit beside three boys at the back: one she thought she had already encountered, with his neatly-combed blonde hair and cerulean eyes showing boredom; and two identical ones talking to each other vigorously, only that their eyes were different from each other. She set her eyes again on the brat, who was quirking a brow in amusement. She rolled her eyes and turned to her roommates.

"Hey, girls," she smiled at them and pointed at a vacant bench near the platform. "Let's transfer over there."

Anna looked confused. "But why, Mikan?"

"Well, uhh…" Mikan fiddled her fingers. She simply couldn't tell them about her wanting to stay away from a certain annoying brat. "I… want to get a better view of the persons-in-charge! You know, get to know them better or something like that." She shrugged to hide her real intention.

Anna and Nonoko faced themselves with question marks plastered on their expressions. Hotaru just raised a brow, looking skeptical. "Avoiding something?"

_Someone, rather, _Mikan replied to herself. Hotaru sure knew how to hit the bull's eye. "N-Not really. But please," she clasped her hands together, "it wouldn't hurt, right?"

Hotaru stared at her like she was an X-ray scanner, and in seconds, stood up from her seat. The twins looked at Hotaru to see where she was going. To answer their unspoken question, she proceeded to the bench Mikan was talking about.

"Thanks a bunch, Hotaru!" Mikan squealed in delight, standing up as well and motioned the twins to follow. "Let's go!"

Seeing that there was nothing wrong with transferring seats, they gave in and followed their happy roommate, who was screaming a "Finally!" inside her mind.

Just as they have settled on their new seats, the persons-in-charge arrived. The chitter-chatter from the mob moments ago silenced as the newcomers walked and eventually sat on the grand chairs, which were moved beside the platform, much to Mikan's astonishment. When she turned her head to see the platform, she gaped a little as she saw musical instruments of all varieties: guitars, the keyboards, a set of drums, flutes, horns, microphone stands, a man standing… Oh wait, that was a person-in-charge. His hair was dirty blonde as he had small slanted eyes. He was wearing a white polo and jeans and a smile.

"Hello, campers. I am Sir Nodacchi," he talked through the microphone. "How is the camp so far?"

The campers spoke all together, stating answers about approval and satisfaction and "having a great time." Sadly, Mikan couldn't answer in such way, with all the things that happened, from strawberry snatching to underwear peeking to hair pulling and to propose something out of the ordinary. And it was still the first day, for the sake of Hotaru's love for crabs! How much more will happen in the remaining six days?

"Well," Sir Nodacchi remarked, hearing the comment of someone saying that nothing related to _music _has happened. "That's the exact point why we're gathered here at the moment."

Mikan looked at the talking person-in-charge curiously, together with the intrigued reaction of the audience. Sir Nodacchi cleared his throat.

"Today we're going to have the Showcase of Talents."

The intrigued whispers and expressions turned to anticipation and excitement, same as what Mikan was feeling.

"Knowing that there will be a Show Night on the last day of this camp, this activity will give you the chance to show us," Sir Nodacchi gestured to the other persons-in-charge, "and the rest of the campers a glimpse of what you've got. Also, this can further promote the spirit of camaraderie, for who knows, with many people participating in this camp, you can meet someone in the same field you're on. Because basically, music and making friends is this camp is all about. So… any questions?" Seeing that there were no perplexed faces in the audience, he smiled. "So I see you're ready to begin?"

The campers made responses implying that they were up for the challenge…

"Alright." Another smile. "We will do it by draw lots."

… except Mikan, who was pondering on a part of Sir Nodacchi's speech. "Show Night? We're going to have a Show Night on the last day? What's that about?"

Anna, who was sitting beside her, blinked at the question. "It's the main event of some sort, where we perform either by ourselves or in groups. Didn't Sir Naru announce that during the first assembly?"

"Oh," Mikan muttered, remembering the she wasn't really listening that time. Show Night? That ought to be an awesome one, for sure. She caught herself imagining her own silhouette drowned in the spotlights of the stage, performing her heart out as she sung one of her original compositions and strummed her guitar to the rhythm in front of bajillions of people.

Ahh, dreams.

"Tsubasa Andou," Sir Nodacchi called out, snapping her out of her reverie. A tall guy, wearing a small hat that concealed a part of his raven hair, a shirt layered by a blazer, and baggy pants, came to the stage. It wasn't really visible but Mikan could see a star tattoo below his left eye, which she thought was pretty cool. She almost didn't notice he that he was pulling a girl to join him on stage. She had pink hair like Anna, only a shade darker.

"What the hell is this, you dimw—"

"She'll be performing with me, Sir Noda," the guy cheekily told the person-in-charge, who nodded in comprehension. He handed him an iPod, grabbed the microphones sitting on their respective stands, and laid his arm on the girl's shoulders, ignoring her constant snarls.

"Hey, everyone! I'm Tsubasa Andou, and this is Misaki Harada, my wolf of a—OW!—uhh, girlfriend—OUCH!"

"Who says I'm your girlfriend, you ambitious twat?"

He rubbed his head. "Uhh, me? OW! Anyway, we're going to sing Jay-Z's 'Empire State of Mind'. Music, please."

And Sir Nodacchi played the song, making it blare on the hall speakers as the audience nodded, tapped their feet or whatever according to the beat. Then Tsubasa made his remarkable entrance.

_Yea I'm out that Brooklyn, now I'm down in TriBeCa  
>Right next to Deniro, but I'll be hood forever<br>I'm the new Sinatra, and since I made it here  
>I can make it anywhere, yea, they love me everywhere<br>I used to cop in Harlem, all of my Dominicano's  
>Right there up on Broadway, pull me back to that McDonald's<br>Took it to my stashbox, 560 State St.  
>Catch me in the kitchen like a Simmons with them Pastry's<br>Cruisin' down 8th St., off white Lexus  
>Drivin' so slow, but BK is from Texas<br>Me, I'm out that Bed-Stuy, home of that boy Biggie  
>Now I live on Billboard and I brought my boys with me<br>Say what's up to Ty-Ty, still sippin' mai tai's  
>Sittin' courtside, Knicks &amp; Nets give me high five<br>Nigga I be Spike'd out, I could trip a referee  
>Tell by my attitude that I'm most definitely from<em>

Misaki gave him a glare for a second before she sung her part.

_New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of  
>There's nothin' you can't do<br>Now you're in New York  
>These streets will make you feel brand new<br>Big lights will inspire you  
>Let's hear it for New York, New York,<br>New York_

If she gave him that glare for reasons like she didn't want to embarrass herself (which is true on Misaki's side), Mikan couldn't help but disagree. She thought she sang very well.

And so was Tsubasa's rapping.

_Catch me at the X with OG at a Yankee game  
>I made the Yankee hat more famous then a Yankee can<br>You should know I bleed blue, but I ain't a Crip though  
>But I got a gang of niggas walkin' with my clique though<br>Welcome to the melting pot, corners where we sellin' rock  
>Afrika Bambataa, home of the hip-hop<br>Yellow cab, gypsy cab, dollar cab, holla back  
>For foreigners it ain't for, they act like they forgot how to act<br>8 million stories, out there in it naked  
>City, it's a pity, half of y'all won't make it<br>Me, I got a plug, Special Ed "I Got It Made"  
>If Jeezy's payin' LeBron, I'm payin' Dwyane Wade<br>Three dice cee-lo, three Card Monty  
>Labor Day Parade, rest in peace Bob Marley<br>Statue of Liberty, long live the World Trade  
>Long live the King yo, I'm from the Empire State that's<em>

[Misaki:] _New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of  
>There's nothin' you can't do<br>Now you're in New York  
>These streets will make you feel brand new<br>Big lights will inspire you  
>Let's hear it for New York, New York,<br>New York_

[Tsubasa:]_ Lights is blinding, girls need blinders  
>So they can step out of bounds quick, the sidelines is<br>Lined with casualties, who sip to life casually  
>Then gradually become worse, don't bite the apple eve<br>Caught up in the in-crowd, now you're in style  
>Anna Wintour gets cold, in Vogue with your skin out<br>City of sin, it's a pity on the wind  
>Good girls gone bad, the city's filled with them<br>Mami took a bus trip, now she got her bust out  
>Everybody ride her, just like a bus route<br>Hail Mary to the city, you're a virgin  
>And Jesus can't save you, life starts when the church end<br>Came here for school, graduated to the high life  
>Ball players, rap stars, addicted to the limelight<br>MDMA got you feelin' like a champion  
>The city never sleeps, better slip you an Ambien<em>

[Misaki:] _New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of  
>There's nothin' you can't do<br>Now you're in New York  
>These streets will make you feel brand new<br>Big lights will inspire you  
>Let's hear it for New York, New York,<br>New York_  
><em>One hand in the air for the big city<br>Street lights, big dreams, all lookin' pretty  
>No place in the world that could compare<br>Put your lighters in the air  
>Everybody say "yeah…"<em>

The campers in the hall went with the flow of the song, screaming a "Yeah!..." in response.

[Misaki:] _Yeah… Yeah… Yeah…  
>New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of<br>There's nothin' you can't do  
>Now you're in New York<br>These streets will make you feel brand new  
>Big lights will inspire you<br>Let's hear it for New York, New York,  
>New York<em>

After the song's last beat, a round of applause was heard from the crowd, and Tsubasa graced himself with a manly bow, before Misaki got her turn to drag him out of the stage, which made Mikan giggle. They were cute in some way.

"Well done, Andou and Harada. Even the bickering part," Sir Nodacchi commented. The crowd laughed. "And so, the next performer is… Yura Otonashi…"

The awe-striking numbers continued, and they were all worthy of every one's cheers and applauses. Mikan's attention was specially caught by Anna and Nonoko, who made a terrific rendition of Katy Perry's "Firework" through their instruments and got the audience to dance slightly to the rhythm; and a little guy with messy gray hair that rocked out the whole social hall when he worked wonders with his electric guitar. She thought he quite resembled someone, someone she couldn't put a finger on. She also observed Anna's interested reaction when a blonde guy with spectacles played his version of some kind of song with the keyboards. When he was done with his performance, Mikan asked her about it, and her fidgeted reply made her smell something fishy.

"Well… he plays the keyboards. I-I can learn a thing or two from him. And… guys with spectacles, uhm, attract me somehow…"

But what amused Mikan the most was Hotaru's presentation. Like, she was so aware of the campers feeling scared whenever her best friend's around because of her cold and intimidating demeanor, but when they saw her playing the, FREAKING DRUMS IS THE WORLD STILL ROUND, as the expressions on their faces said, all she could do was roll her eyes in hilarity.

Well, that feeling died down when Sir Nodacchi called out an oh-so-familiar name.

"Sumire Shouda, it's your turn."

And so the said Shouda girl stood up in all her shimmering glory and strode down the aisle like she was doing some ramp modeling, along with her companions -slash- minions who tagged along. Sir Nodacchi was about to hand them microphones when Sumire just replied a sugary "Oh, we provided some for ourselves, Sir Noda-kins!" and then fished out microphones that matched their glittery clothes.

_Seriously, _Mikan thought as she rolled her eyes for the second time, only in disgust.

"Hello, everyone!" Sumire greeted with the same sweet tone. Mikan swore she saw hearts forming in the eyes of the boy campers. "I'll be performing with my gals, and we call ourselves the It Girls of Okinawa!" She winked. Insert the howling of the boys and the scoffing of Mikan. "We're going to sing Vanessa Carlton's 'Watch Me Shine'. It's our theme song, actually. Heehee. So… let's hit it, guuuurls!"

And so the girls did a song-and-dance number, and the reaction of the crowd got more intense, much to Mikan's utter dismay.

_Ooh…_

_I'm not your average type of girl_  
><em>I'm gonna show the world<em>  
><em>The strength in me that sometimes they can't see<em>  
><em>I'm about to switch my style<em>  
><em>And soon things may get wild<em>  
><em>But I'll prove that I can conquer anything<em>

_So from my head to toe_  
><em>I'm taking full control<em>  
><em>I'll make it on my own this time<em>  
><em>(Watch me shine)<em>

_Better watch out_  
><em>Going for the knockout<em>  
><em>And I won't stop till I'm on top now<em>  
><em>Not gonna give up until I get what's mine<em>  
><em>Better check that I'm about to upset<em>  
><em>And I'm hot now so you better step back<em>  
><em>I'm taking over so watch me shine<em>

_Oh oh oh_

_So get ready here I come_  
><em>Until the job is done<em>  
><em>No time to waste<em>  
><em>There's nothing stopping me<em>  
><em>Oh<em>  
><em>But you don't hear me though<em>  
><em>So now it's time to show<em>  
><em>And prove I'm gonna be the best I can be<em>

_So from my head to toe_  
><em>My mind, body and soul<em>  
><em>I'm taking full control<em>  
><em>This time<em>  
><em>(So watch me shine)<em>

_Better watch out_  
><em>Going for the knockout<em>  
><em>And I won't stop till I'm on top now<em>  
><em>Not gonna give up until I get what's mine<em>  
><em>Better check that I'm about to upset<em>  
><em>And I'm hot now so you better step back<em>  
><em>I'm taking over so watch me shine<em>

_Oooo oh ya ya (Oh ya ya)_

_Bet you don't think I can take it_  
><em>But my mind and body are strong<em>  
><em>Bet you don't think I can make it<em>  
><em>It won't take long<em>

_Bet you don't think I can take it_  
><em>But my mind and body are strong<em>  
><em>Bet you don't think I can make it<em>  
><em>It won't take long<em>

_Now watch me shine..._

_Better watch out_  
><em>Going for the knockout<em>  
><em>And I won't stop till I'm on top now<em>  
><em>Not gonna give up until I get what's mine<em>  
><em>Better check that I'm about to upset<em>  
><em>And I'm hot now so you better step back<em>  
><em>I'm taking over so watch me shine<em>

_Now watch me shine..._

_Better watch out_  
><em>Going for the knockout<em>  
><em>And I won't stop till I'm on top now<em>  
><em>Not gonna give up until I get what's mine<em>  
><em>Better check that I'm about to upset<em>  
><em>And I'm hot now so you better step back<em>  
><em>I'm taking over so watch me shine<em>

_Watch me..._  
><em>Ooh oh oh<em>  
><em>Watch me shine<em>  
><em>Watch me<em>

After the last word they sang and the last dance step they did, the crowd bellowed. It only became worse for Mikan when the so-called It Girls blew flying kisses, mostly to the devastated boys. That brought her to covering her ears and muttering "This is insane."

"That was a pretty wonderful performance, Shouda and the rest," Sir Nodacchi stated, still with the warm smile on his face, as if not affected _at all _by the reaction of the audience. "So! Our next performance will be… Luna Koizumi."

An applause was heard from the crowd, and from them emerged a girl with blonde hair that reached up her shoulders and lips emphasized with red lipstick, clad in a sundress and leather boots. She went up the stage, bringing a guitar with her.

"Hey. Uhm, I'm Luna Koizumi, and I'm going to play a composition I made for a guy who somehow left, but I believe will come back to where he belongs, and that's…" Her last words were said in a whisper, "… with me."

The strumming of the guitar followed.

_Tall dark and superman  
>He puts papers in his briefcase and drives away<br>To save the world or go to work  
>It's the same thing to me<br>He's got his mother's eyes, his father's ambition  
>I wonder if he knows how much that I miss him<br>I hang on every word you say  
>And you smile and say "How are you?"<br>And I'll say "Just fine"  
>I always forget to tell you I love you<br>I'll love you forever_

_I watch Superman fly away_  
><em>You've got a busy day today<em>  
><em>Go save the world<em>  
><em>I'll be around<em>  
><em>I watch superman fly away<em>  
><em>Come back I'll be with you someday<em>  
><em>I'll be right here on the ground<em>  
><em>When you come back down<em>

_Tall, dark and beautiful, he's complicated, he's irrational_  
><em>But I hope someday he'll take me away and save the day, yeah<em>  
><em>Something in his deep red eyes has me saying<em>  
><em>He's not all bad like his reputation<em>  
><em>And I can't hear one single word they say<em>  
><em>And you'll leave, got places to be and I'll be OK<em>  
><em>I always forget to tell you I love you<em>  
><em>I loved you from the very first day<em>

_I watch Superman fly away_  
><em>You've got a busy day today<em>  
><em>Go save the world, I'll be around<em>  
><em>I watch Superman fly away<em>  
><em>Come back, I'll be with you someday<em>  
><em>I'll be right here on the ground<em>  
><em>When you come back down<em>

_And I watch you fly around the world_  
><em>And I hope you don't save some other girl<em>  
><em>Don't forget, don't forget about me<em>  
><em>I'm far away but I'll never let you go<em>  
><em>I'm lovestruck and looking out the window<em>  
><em>Don't forget, don't forget where I'll be<em>  
><em>Right here wishing the flowers were from you<em>  
><em>Wishing the card was from you<em>  
><em>Wishing the call was from you<em>  
><em>'Cause I've loved you from the very first day<em>

_I watch Superman fly away_  
><em>You've got a busy day today<em>  
><em>Go save the world, I'll be around<em>  
><em>Forever and ever<em>  
><em>I watch Superman fly away<em>  
><em>I swear I'll be with you someday<em>  
><em>I'll be right here on the ground<em>  
><em>When you come back down<em>

_La la la la la la la la  
>La la la la la la…<br>When you come back down_

Everyone clapped their hands when she descended from the platform. Even Mikan. She adored the song very much, a song she made on her own, and she played the guitar, too! Same as what she does! Maybe she could learn something from her! That would be amazing. She was already thinking of what questions to ask her when Sir Nodacchi called out another name.

"Ruka Nogi, you're on."

And a blonde head rose up from the crowd, the time when Mikan turned her head to see the back part of the social hall. She immediately regretted it when she saw two dirty blondes rose up, too.

And a raven-haired one.

She could hear the girl campers squeal a little as the four gorgeous boys—well, minus one brat for her—take graceful strides towards the platform. Sir Nodacchi handed Blondie a microphone. The four then faced the audience with smiles on their faces. Well, minus one brat again, who maintained a blank expression.

The little squeals grew louder, though.

"Hi. I'm Ruka Nogi, and these are my friends, Koko, Kitsuneme, and Natsume. We play as a band. As Blue Jeans. So… since Natsume is our vocalist, I guess I should give the floor to him."

Natsume, the brat, was the freaking vocalist. Insert Mikan's eye twitching.

The blonde gave the raven head a playful nudge before passing on the mic to him. The rest of them walked towards their instruments, with Natsume strapping on a guitar and attaching the mic to the stand in front of him. He cleared his throat.

Somehow, that little action of his brought Mikan to a breathless moment.

'We are going to sing 'Don't Speak Liar' by We The Kings," he declared, his husky voice blaring on the speakers. The squeals switched to yells of admiration. After he spoke, he took a glimpse of the brunette and his lips formed into a smirk.

Screw the breathless moment.

Because now she was asking herself why she even thought of transferring to the front seat.

_Just sit back  
>And tell me<br>I'm a liar for this  
>Don't roll your eyes<br>Rewind  
>This happens<br>Way too many times_

_So sit back_  
><em>And tell me that you're<em>  
><em>Tired of this<em>  
><em>I know<em>  
><em>I'll grow up someday<em>  
><em>But it's 2am<em>  
><em>And I'm too high and dry<em>  
><em>And I won't come down to<em>

_So when I come back_  
><em>I won't say a word<em>  
><em>I know<em>  
><em>I've said this before<em>  
><em>Don't speak, liar<em>

_No we won't talk_  
><em>We won't say a word<em>  
><em>I know<em>  
><em>You've heard this before<em>  
><em>Don't speak, liar<em>

_Sit back_  
><em>And tell me why<em>  
><em>I'm so prone to this<em>  
><em>Do you think I'm fond of<em>  
><em>Getting you and letting you down<em>  
><em>And I'll get mine soon<em>

_So when I come back_  
><em>I won't say a word<em>  
><em>I know<em>  
><em>I've said this before<em>  
><em>Don't speak, liar<em>

_No we won't talk_  
><em>We won't say a word<em>  
><em>I know<em>  
><em>You've heard this before<em>  
><em>Don't speak, liar<em>

_And if the story ends here_  
><em>I can't be surprised to find<em>  
><em>Your eyes are open wide<em>  
><em>And that I have inspired you<em>

_And when you come back_  
><em>Don't say a word<em>  
><em>I know<em>  
><em>You've said this before<em>  
><em>Don't speak, liar<em>

_No we won't talk_  
><em>We won't say a word<em>  
><em>I know<em>  
><em>We've heard this before<em>  
><em>Don't speak, liar<em>  
><em>Don't speak, liar<em>  
><em>Whoa-oh<em>  
><em>Don't speak, liar<em>

And another set of squeals, screeches, applauses, yells of some sort was emitted from the audience, with the girls making mental noises of making banners, t-shirts, and other coupons that would show their fangirl side… whatever. Mikan was different from them. She thought all these were worse, way way way _way _worse than how the boys responded to the It Girls' performance.

Because of all things he could be in a band, why did Natsume have to be the _vocalist_?

God. Let someone let her out of this world of insanity.

"Outstanding, Blue Jeans. Very outstanding. We hope to see to see something as good as that in our last performance and that would be…" Sir Nodacchi pulled out the only piece of paper in the fish bowl. "… Mikan Sakura."

Mikan was snapped out of her "world of insanity" and when a round of applause was made and when Anna nudged her, saying things like her getting on the stage.

Oh, shoot. It was already her turn.

She stood abruptly, almost forgetting to bring her guitar (thanks to Nonoko who reminded her), and dashed to the platform, met with a freidnly smile from Sir Nodacchi. Smiling sheepishly in return, she faced the audience and swallowed. Her motto about "confidence" was suddenly erased from her mind, and her eyes widened a little, seeing the pretty huge crowd, and wondering how she could pull this off.

"Uhh, h-hi, everyone! I'm M-Mikan Sakura…" she quickly scanned the faces of the campers: the It Girls looking at her (which she took as a glare), the amused face of the brat (she rolled her eyes inwardly at that), the encouraging poses of the twins, the blank look on her best friend's face, and the enthusiastic looks of the rest.

Oh, well.

"I compose songs. And, uhm, I'm going to play the song I wrote—actually this is the first one—well, that time I was pretty uncertain on what dream to pursue. You know, being a confused teenager and all," she laughed nervously and continued, "but now, I'm sure of it and… here I am."

She smiled. She could pull this off, after all. She could. And she would.

_Oh star fall down on me  
>Let me make a wish upon you<br>Hold on, let me think  
>Think of what I'm wishing for<em>

_Wait, don't go away_  
><em>Just not yet<em>  
><em>'Cause I thought I had it<em>  
><em>But I forget<em>

_And I won't let you fall away from me_  
><em>You will never fade<em>  
><em>And I won't let you fall away from me<em>  
><em>You will never fade away from me<em>

_And now I let my dreams consume me_  
><em>And tell me what to think<em>  
><em>But hold on, hold on.<em>  
><em>What am I dreaming, yeah<em>

_Wait, don't go away_  
><em>Just not yet<em>  
><em>Cause I thought that I had it<em>  
><em>But I forget<em>

_And I won't let you fall away from me._  
><em>You will never fade away<em>  
><em>I won't let you fall away<em>  
><em>You will never fade away<em>

_And I won't let you fall away_  
><em>You will never fade fade away<em>  
><em>And I won't let you fall away from me<em>  
><em>You will never fade…<em>

_Oh star fall down on me_

Mikan huffed lightly as she was through with the high note—and it wasn't the _only _high note in the song—and smiled again at the crowd. Did they like it? But she couldn't tell with the confusing look on their faces. Is she doomed?

"Well, that's it. Hope you liked it. Thank you."

And after her final words, the crowd roared. Some cheered, a few whistled, others were clapping energetically. And she was on the platform, gaping, not believing the scene before her.

She _actually _pulled it off. She smiled widely, mouthing Thank You's over and over again. Boy, was she glad.

Now that was a good start.

* * *

><p>"It was so, <em>so <em>awesome, Mikan! I never know you had a voice as powerful as _that_!"

"Yeah! I was so amazed! I am so glad I have an _amazing _musician for a roommate!"

"Geez. Thanks, Anna, Nonoko—"

"Well their comments would just inflate your ego, anyway."

"Hotaru!"

A table (which wasn't labeled with Number 7) was filled then with sweet laughter from a bubbly pair of twins as they relished on chicken salad for dinner, together with a growling Mikan who was poking her meal with her fork rather harshly, and an indifferent Hotaru who continued to chew on her lobsters. Really, it was a pretty funny sight to see, but the people inside the cafeteria didn't mind, for they were busy eating their dinner as well.

After a few topics for conversation, Mikan tried to stifle a yawn—but failed—before saying to her friends, "Well, let's call this a day and jump on our beds in our cabin!… I'm pretty tired, you see."

'Well we see it very clearly." The twins laughed again at Hotaru's remark, and the four roommates stood up and walked towards the exit. Mikan wasn't far yet from being out of the cafeteria when she suddenly turned her head and saw someone staring at her from a corner, urging her to approach him. Him, yeah, she was quite sure of that. But thinking it may be something important, she called out for her roommates.

"Hey! You go ahead. I'll catch up with you later!" And off she ran, leaving her roommates quirking their brows in astonishment.

She continued to pace to the tall figure of a guy who was leaning on a cabin wall. As she neared him, she began regretting why she did so, because as their proximity grew, she began seeing raven hair, then crimson eyes gleaming in half-amusement, and s smirk to top it off.

He was smirking a lot these hours, she noticed. But it won't stop her from thinking how stupid she could be. Stupid. Crazy. _Ugh._

"What now, _brat_?"

He straightened up from where he was leaning and walked closer, closing their proximity. He bowed down to stare directly at her auburn eyes. "I didn't receive a proper answer from you."\

"Didn't I say my answer was proper enough? Or are you that deaf to hear me say 'no'?"

"Well, apparently," he straightened up again and crossed his arms, "'no' is not a proper answer for me."

She huffed. "You're getting on my nerves."

"And you amuse me a lot, as always."

She rolled her eyes. "This talk is going nowhere." She started to turn around and just walk out, if only he didn't grab her wrist to stop her, same as what he did during lunch time. She released herself from his grip and turned again to face him.

"Seriously, why are you so persistent, anyway?"

He cleared his throat before replying, "Well, you know mutualism?" Without waiting for her to answer he continued. "In biology, it is the way two organisms interact where each individual derives a fitness benefit. And this proposal is much like it."

"Wow, what a brain," she replied sardonically. "And how in the world is it going to benefit _me_?"

"Don't you want to stay away from those It Girls of The-Hell-I-Care?"

That rendered her speechless.

"I know girls like them will plot out something for you, and I swear, you won't like it. And a guy like _me _offers help _once in a blue moon_, so it'll be such a waste if you won't accept."

She raised a brow. "You're here to be my 'knight in shining armor' and drag me away from them?"

"I think you're the one who's deaf."

"Wait." She didn't mind his comment and raised an index finger in contemplation. "As much as I want to be away from them, I don't see why I have to do this pretending thing for that to happen."

He looked away from her skeptic gaze and said, "You don't need to know, and besides," he faced her again, smirking for the nth time that day, "you wouldn't want everyone knowing about the stupid pattern of your underwear, would you?"

A pair of brown eyes widened. "Is that a blackmail?"

"What do you think?"

She seethed. "You… you PERVERT!" She stomped her feet to show her annoyance before deciding that she had, sadly, no way to escape from the mess she was dragged in. "FINE! I have no choice but to give in… but you will have to follow a bunch of conditions."

He cocked a brow, and she took it as a sign for her to continue.

"First, you have to keep your word of protecting me from those witches. Second," she counted using her fingers, "you will not prohibit me the time for my friends. You may be my boyfriend—_pretend _for this matter—but my friends will still come first. Third, this game will only be until the last day of the camp. When we go home, all ties connecting us will be cut, including this game. Aaaand," she pressed a finger on her lips to think before releasing it in the air, "breakfast strawberries will be mine and mine _alone_. None for you."

"Hn."

"Well… I think that would be all."

"I have a condition, too, by the way."

"And what is that?"

"It's simple," he said nonchalantly. "You just have to be there with me when I tell you you should."

"Well…" she didn't quite understand what he meant but agreed, nonetheless, "That would be okay with me."

"So…" he let out a mall smirk before stretching out his right hand. "Got ourselves a deal?"

She stared at the manly hand before turning her gaze on his perfect features. She swallowed, wondering if this decision would be worth it in the end. She had had enough regrets that day, and she was having thoughts of maybe having them again if she accepts. And if ever regrets happen, she couldn't afford it anymore.

But it was too late to back down already. She had no choice.

Trying her best to sport a determined look, she stretched out her right hand and shook his. "Deal."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Luna's song is 'Superman' by Taylor Swift (with a little tweaking, you'll know why soon, or I think you already know :3). Mikan's song is 'Oh Star' by Paramore. For those who love Taylor Swift or Paramore (or both!), raise your right foot! :D Kidding. And yeah, I haven't heard a guitar rendition of both songs... but for this story, let's just imagine there are. :D Mehehe.

And this is the last chapter I posted before I left FFN on a hiatus. So... the next chapter will be a brand new one! And I won't be leaving this story hanging anymore! *confetti*

But yeah, I need a dose of encouragement, of course, from the readers, you! :) Please please please please leave a review! Compliment, criticism, "UPDATE OR I WILL KILL YOU", "Paramore rocks!", any will do!

And I'm thinking about writing a story for May Madness, too. Has anyone here heard of that? The challenge is interesting to me but I'm not sure if I could participate, with the summer activities I'm in now. But I'll try. :D

So much for babbling whatnot. Review, please! *puppy look*


	5. That Girl

**Disclaimer: **You know the drill.

* * *

><p><strong>Love in Seven Days<strong>

**Chapter 5: **That Girl

* * *

><p>"The performances were pretty swell, don't you think?"<p>

"Yeah! Totally got me mindblown. Yours, too!"

"Naaah, don't say that. You're making me flattered."

Giggles.

"But really, my performance was nothing compared to the performances of the other campers. They almost tore the house down! Especially that one band… yeah! Blue Jeans!"

"Blue Jeans! Yes! Gosh they were _sooo_ hot and all. And the way they play, gaaaah, so freaking sexy! Especially the vocalist, what was his name again?"

"Silly. It's Natsume Hyuuga!"

"Oh, yes! Gosh, he was such a _stud_, with his raven hair, perfect figure and… and those deep red eyes!" Dreamy sigh. "I mean, I've never seen eyes tinted with red in my entire life! I would be surprised if those weren't contacts!"

"I'd bet those were true, though. It's what makes him stand out! Makes me want to gobble him up!"

"Now that's pretty weird."

Giggles. Dreamy sighs. Laughs.

_Sigh. _That was the only reaction Mikan could muster, after hearing the slightly deranged conversation sitting across her table while she ate her breakfast alone. Yes, she agreed along about how terrific the performances were from yesterday's Showcase of Talents, but when they started talking about Blue Jeans and their 'stud'—blech—vocalist, she couldn't help but roll her eyes inwardly.

But hey, they were talking about her pretend boyfriend, after all.

_Pretend _boyfriend.

Why did she even think of accepting that farfetched deal from that pervert? Realizing the possibility of the girl population getting crazy about him (even though it _was _already happening, seeing those two girls), she wondered if what she got herself into would cause a ruckus.

Gulp.

"And oh! Do you remember the girl who last performed?"

"Oh, yes! I think her name was Mikan Sakura or something…"

"Her performance was awesome, too! I felt a little envy that time."

"Yeah. Her voice was so powerful; it was one heck of a way to end the activity."

"You could say that again."

_Talk about awkward._

"Mind if I join you?"

She noticed that voice didn't come from the girls across her table—and it certainly didn't come from a girl—so she abruptly raised her head to see whom it came from: a guy with neatly-combed blonde hair and gleaming cerulean eyes. He let out a friendly smile as he carried his tray of breakfast.

"S-S-Sure," she spoke back. He grinned cheerfully and went to sit across her in the round wooden table. She scowled lightly at his familiar figure.

"I can see you're alone," he started to talk, then paused to drink his carton of milk. "Where are your roommates?"

"Oh! They're… still sleeping in our cabin. I went ahead of them because I was starving when I woke up."

He chuckled.

"Well I guess you're pretty alone, too. Where are your roommates?" Mikan returned the question.

He paused before answering, "Pretty much the same reason as yours."

It was her turn to chuckle back. "Coincidence, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "Oh, your performance yesterday was totally cool."

She blinked at his words. "You… You know me?"

"Well you're pretty easy to remember, judging from your performance. Hey, it got me mindblown! And you're like the talk of the town. I mean, I heard comments about how powerful your voice is, how great your composition was, and—"

She flushed, remembering the last part of the conversation of the two girls a while ago.

"You okay?"

"Uhh, oh yeah!" she waved her hands in defense. "It's just… it feels pretty awkward."

"Well that's normal, really. It's part of being an aspiring musician. Didn't you dream of this or something?"

"Uhm, not really," she played with her meal uneasily. "I just want to share my love of music to everyone in the camp, knowing they have the same interests as me. I… really didn't expect to receive comments like those."

"But you are an outstanding one, you know," he replied as he smiled a smile that can make anyone's heart melt.

She smiled sheepishly, feeling her cheeks heating up again, finding ways to divert the somehow embarrassing topic. "Oh! We've been talking for some time and we haven't known each other's names yet! Haha! I'm Mikan Sakura!"

He chuckled again as he received her handshake. "I already know yours, actually. I'm Ruka Nogi."

"Ruka… Nogi?" she repeated questionably after she shook hands with him. "Now where have I heard of that name? not to mention you look so familiar."

"Hmm? Well we performed yesterday."

"Yeah but… it's like I've noticed you more than once already," she bit her lower lip and stared upward in thought, then suddenly snapped at his reply. "Wait. _We_?"

"Oh, there you are, Mikan!"

Quite disappointed that her interrogation was disrupted, she turned to the direction of the voice, who belonged to Anna who was together with smiling Nonoko and her cold-looking—well, what else is new?—best friend, Hotaru. "You were missing in your room."

"Uhh, sorry. My stomach grumbled the time I woke up and I didn't want to wake you all up. Oh, Ruka! These are my roommates, Anna, her twin Nonoko, and my best friend Hotaru. Guys, this is—"

But before Mikan could continue her introduction, she saw her twin friends gawking at him in surprise.

"G-Gosh, Mikan," Nonoko started to speak, "why didn't you tell us you were going to eat with _him_?"

"H-Huh? Oh, no! It was sudden and it wasn't—wait, why, is it wrong?"

"You're…" Anna was facing the blonde. "You're Ruka Nogi from Blue Jeans, right?"

"Uhh, yeah?" was his reply.

Mikan didn't mind the twins squealing in delight as it was her turn already to gape at him. Remembering how he drummed all through Blue Jeans' number, how he tailed along with the brat during the assemblies, the time he called out to him during the strawberry snatching scene… Yes, yes, it all made sense now.. and she seemed so flustered at the realization she just had.

"Idiot, you're looking stupid."

"But Hotaru, I just… I just made f-friends with…" She slapped her forehead. "Oh, God."

* * *

><p>She was frowning all the way to the activity area.<p>

"Why the long face, Mikan? You just made face with the drummer of Blue Jeans, for crying out loud!"

"That's the point, Nonoko."

"But what's so bad about that? I mean, it's _Blue Jeans_! The group of the drop dead _gorgeous _of the music camp! It would be a blessing from the skies to be friends with them… Or even one of them!"

"Yeah, it was such a _blessing _to be friends with him, not knowing he was one of the minions of the _brat_!" she exclaimed bitterly as she sat on one of the many wooden benches surrounding the field. "Such a way to start the day."

"But Ruka was pretty nice," Anna calmly stated, sitting beside the raging brunette. "It would be a waste to push him away."

Mikan scoffed but then sighed heavily, mumbling, "I guess you're right."

"Speaking of the devil."

Hearing her best friend's dry comment, she turned o where she was facing, only to flinch at the sight of the approaching brat—looking good despite his simple attire—smirking at her none too slightly.

"What do you wa—"

"Good morning, sweetheart."

Her mouth remained open at his greeting, same as how her roommates were looking at him incredulously.

"S-S-Swee—what did you just call me—hey! Where on earth are you taking me—"

"Wouldn't you want to spend the morning with your _boyfriend_?" he replied casually as he dragged her away from her seat.

"Why you!—Let go of me, you brat!" She struggled to release herself from the guy's frustratingly strong hold. Knowing her efforts were useless, she turned to her friends instead, getting a look of their shocked expressions.

He continued to drag her to a group of boys talking to each other: two of them with identical sandy brow hair which seemed achingly familiar to her, one with a semi-bald head and a lean figure, and another one… She scowled as she recognized the last one. Ruka.

"Oh, hey Nat! And… Sakura? What are you doing here?"

She finally released herself from Natsume's grip, and straightening her posture—though she was still irritated—she forced a cheerful expression to the group. "Well… hi, Ruka and uhm… Ruka's friends!"

The identical ones blinked together then suddenly laughed hysterically. The wide-eyed one calmed himself while patting the other one on the shoulder then started to speak. "This girl's pretty funny, Nat. Who is she anyway?"

Natsume's lips curled into a smirk wider than the one let out a while ago, then he unexpectedly wrapped one arm around Mikan's shoulders, much to her surprise and increased annoyance. "My _girlfriend_."

Gone were the amused looks of 'Ruka's friends', which were now replaced by looks of astonishment, including Ruka who seemingly couldn't believe what his friend had just answered. "G-Girlfriend?"

Mikan, too, instead of pushing Natsume away like how she planned to, shot him a look mixed with surprise and bewilderment. But then it hit her earlier than expected. Snap. All along she was grumping about her 'boyfriend', and because of her infuriation, he forgot all about it, the deal and all. Shoot. Shoot shoot shoot.

Natsume just quirked a brow in hilarity at the reaction of his companions, then tightened his hold on the brunette. "And what's getting you so grumpy, sweetheart?" He leaned in closer to her and whispered, "That expression of yours is making you uglier, you know."

She shoved him away using her elbow and sighed in frustration. "Speak for yourself, bastard." Still looking grumpy, she took another glimpse at his friends, who still had that stunned look on their faces on. Yes, they might be Natsume The Brat's friends, but still, they seemed pretty harmless for her. Her look softened and she smiled at them—not forced this time. "Sorry but this guy may be a jerk sometimes. I'm Mikan Sakura."

"You can say that again. I'm Kokoryomi," the wide-eyed replied, grinning despite Natsume's glare.

"Kitsuneme. Nice to meet you!" the boy who looked like Kokoryomi except for the slanted eyes waved his hand.

The bald guy seemed distant but introduced himself nonetheless. "Mochiage."

"You can call him Mochu, if you want!"

"Shut up, will ya?"

Mikan laughed a bit. She was right about them being harmless, after all. She wasn't sure about Mochu, though. "You know, guys, you seem pretty cool, too. I don't even know why you're friends with _this _jerk."

Without giving Natsume a chance to retort, the seven persons-in-charge arrived in the activity area with Sir Narumi a step ahead, clapping his hands as if letting everyone know they have arrived. As a response, everyone alerted themselves and turned to face them. Seeing that the campers were listening, Sir Narumi grabbed the megaphone dangling on his arm.

"Good morning, campers! I hope you all had a good sleep last night, because we're going to start the second day of the Alice Summer Music Camp with another energy-filled activity! And it's called…" Sir Narumi paused as if to add suspense, "Open The Basket!"

The campers had looks of curiosity, astonishment, amusement… it was a parade of emotions, but all Mikan thought was she knew this game by heart. If only she was with her friends, she would have a chance to enjoy playing. But what could she could if she was with the brat? Jeepers.

But a bulb was suddenly lit. _Hey, this game could be a way for me to go to my friends without having to struggle from him, _she thought. She smiled to herself. She could be so clever sometimes.

"Some of you may have known this game already, "Sir Narumi's voice bellowed through the microphone, "but I'm going to explain the rules, nevertheless!" He cleared his throat before he continued. "All of you will be grouped into trios. Since there are 77 of you playing, the two remaining campers will have to stay in the center of the activity field. Now, scoot!"

All of the campers then disseminated and formed trios. Mikan saw Anna, Nonoko and Hotaru from afar form one group, much to her slight urge of getting close to them. But yes, that will happen later. She felt Natsume tugging her arm as he towed her towards Ruka, who met them with a friendly smile.

"Okay, I can see you're properly grouped now, so… the trios are going to position themselves like this!" Sir Narumi afterwards gestured to the three persons-in-charge—Sir Misaki, Sir Nodacchi and Miss Serina—in a position in which Miss Serina was between Sir Misaki and Sir Nodacchi and them enclosing Miss Serina by facing her and raising their arms forward. "Okay, now go!"

The campers did as what was demonstrated. Natsume suddenly held both of Mikan's hands—which surprised her a bit—and nodded to Ruka. "Ruka, come in."

Ruka then obliged and bent down Natsume and Mikan's linked arms, coming in between them. He sighed. "Am I the only one thinking how boring this game is?"

Mikan arched a brow. "You know this game?"

Natsume snorted. "Childhood days. Expect that gay of a person-in-charge to come up of games like this."

She scowled at the one who just spoke. "Hey! Open The Basket is pretty enjoyable, you know! You'll see."

"Yeah, expect _you _to enjoy lame and boring games."

"It isn't lame, you jerk!" she exclaimed. "You exchange places with others and you can meet the other campers and—Wait. Why is Ruka inside the basket? Why am _I _not in the basket? I SHOULD BE THE ONE INSIDE THE BASKET!—"

He snickered. "Good thing you noticed, but unfortunately for you, you will have to stay _here_." He tightened his grip on her. Realizing she couldn't do anything at that moment, Mikan sighed in disappointment.

So much for being clever.

"Now," Sir Narumi went on, "Sir Misaki and Sir Nodacchi here form the 'basket', and Miss Serina is the 'content' of the basket. It'd be the same for all of the trios, while the two campers staying in the center of the activity field will conduct the actions of the surrounding 'baskets'. They are allowed to say three commands: 'Open the basket', 'Close the basket', and 'Exchange places'. When the commanders say 'Open the basket', the baskets will have to raise their arms upward. When they say 'Close the basket', the baskets will have to put their arms down to enclose the 'content' again. When they say 'Exchange places'—which can only be said after saying 'Open the basket'—the contents will have to move out of their respective baskets and run towards another vacant basket. The commanders will have to run from their spots, too, so they can have a chance of being 'contents'. The two campers who'd not able to go into another basket will have to be the new commanders, and then the cycle continues." He grinned to the campers before setting the megaphone near to his mouth. "For further understanding of the instructions, we will have a trial. Campers ready!"

The campers readied themselves as instructed. Ruka dusted his shirt, Natsume smirked at the direction of his 'girlfriend', and Mikan rolled her eyes as a reaction.

"Commanders, you may start now!"

"Open the basket!" Mikan heard the commanders—she thought that title was kind of silly—exclaim, and looking at Natsume nonchalantly, she dragged his hands upward. That annoying smirked of his was still plastered on his face, though.

"Close the basket!" She dragged his hands again downward.

"Open the basket!" It was Natsume then who dragged her arms upward.

"Exchange places!" Mikan saw the commanders run apart, along with Ruka who paced towards Kokoryomi and Kitsuneme, along with everyone else. It was a happy and fun kind of chaos, with the campers running and shrieking like mad. Mikan was about to decide who hopeless she was.

… until she found her best friend running towards her and Natsume and getting inside their 'basket'. Feeling a ray of light shining on her, she let go of Natsume's hands and made an attempt to hug her. "HOTARU!—"

"Don't touch me," Hotaru's hand landed on Mikan's entire face, restraining the latter to hug the former. Hotaru let go of her pouting friend, and proceeded to face Natsume. Mikan didn't see what the expression on her face was, but she saw Natsume raise a brow. Hotaru faced her again, the look on her face dry, but asked a question that startled the brunette.

"You'll have to explain to me what's going on."

"I—I… I can explain—"

"Later," her best friend interrupted and faced forward. Mikan opened her mouth to speak but closed it again, knowing her best friend was right. She could explain everything later.

"Okay!" Sir Narumi cried out again through the megaphone. "Everybody seems to understand now! We can now officially start the activity. Commanders, you may start now!"

"Open the basket!" Natsume controlled their actions this time.

"Close the basket!… Open the basket!… Exchange places!"

Mikan saw Hotaru run a little too slowly and blend into the pacing crowd. Mochu got into between them afterwards.

And another one. And another one.

Mikan got slightly bored as the activity progressed. Who would even enjoy holding hands with the one you currently despise for a bunch of minutes? To make it worse for her, a number of girls had gotten in between them too and they were squealing at the brat while they were inside their basket. Obnoxious fangirls. Hell? Yes.

"Still enjoying this game?" Natsume interrupted her trail of thoughts mockingly, their basket empty.

She rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

Before they could continue bickering, a familiar blond girl came into their basket. Mikan arched her brows at the sight, and then her mind was flooded with memories of the Showcase of Talents, of a girl playing a song about superheroes…

Yes! It _is _her, the girl who had the same interests as her, Luna Koizumi! Mikan was about to greet Luna when she abruptly turned towards the brat and spoke to him in a little too sunny way.

"Hi, Natsume."

Wait. So she was a fangirl, too? But she didn't squeal or swoon or anything; just, "Hi, Natsume," as if she had known him already. Too bad Mikan couldn't see the look on her face, but when she tilted her head to see Natsume's, it was a rather unpleasant one.

_Okay, now what is going on?_

"Okay!" Sir Narumi's voice was suddenly heard through his megaphone. "At this juncture, the 'contents' may now exchange places with any of the persons forming the basket!"

Mikan stared at the person-in-charge in confusion, but then it hit her. This was her chance of going back to her friends! She poked Luna on the shoulder, and the latter faced her with a smug look.

"Uhh, w-would you like to exchange places with me?"

Luna blinked at her once, but eventually, her face brightened. "Sure!"

And so they traded places instantly, making Mikan stick her tongue at Natsume teasingly. He didn't do anything as a reaction, though, which was quite surprising for her.

"Open the basket!" She saw a pair of unlinked arms swung in front of her. Brushing the doubts and skeptic thoughts away, she braced herself.

"Exchange places!" Staggered at the sudden command, she paces away from Natsume and Luna and joined the running mob, searching for her roommates. She kept running and turning her head but, much to her dismay, she couldn't find her friends. She took a step again when all of a sudden, she felt her ankle being tugged away by a foot, and losing her balance, she fell down on her butt in an instant.

"OW!" she screamed in pain. Rubbing her sore ankle, she stood up slowly. She noticed most of the 'baskets' were already filled up when she heard loud whispers from the whole crowd.

"Hey, isn't that girl familiar?"

"She's the one who fell off a puddle from yesterday's activity, right?"

"Poor girl."

"To think it's her second time tripping. How clumsy of her."

She rolled her eyes. She was about to ignore those nasty remarks and just find a vacant basket when suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder and was pushed to lean on a sturdy figure. As she raised her head, she gaped, not believing who she was leaning onto.

Natsume.

"Excuse me, but no one calls my girlfriend 'clumsy'."

She furrowed her eyebrows. She heard audible gasps of disbelief from the campers, especially from the girl population. Seeming to enjoy the scenario, Natsume just pushed Mikan closer to him.

"Yes, fellow campers. This 'clumsy' girl some person is talking about is none other than my girlfriend."

The gasps grew louder, which was mixed with whispers and retorts and other reactions speaking of one same thing: "Natsume Hyuuga has a girlfriend?"

"Campers, campers, settle down," Sir Narumi said through the megaphone, and the noise gradually died down. "Now please look at your companions at the moment."

Natsume finally released Mikan slowly, and heaving a sigh, Mikan looked at him, then at the rest of the campers, who were now grouped in trios—even Luna was with different people already. She rapidly looked at Natsume again.

What the—

"Okay, we'll now proceed to our next activity! Each of the groups will have to come up of a song number to present. It can be singing or playing instruments, it's up to you! We'll head to the social hall for the presentations after fifteen minutes."

Mikan's jaw dropped at Sir Narumi's announcement. She turned to her only groupmate, who flashed his ever-infuriating smirk.

—crap.

* * *

><p>Mikan splashed her face with water. She and Natsume hadn't come up of anything to present yet, and honestly, she couldn't care less. She was not in the place to be inspired to come up of a nice song, even to sing, or to strum her guitar or whatever. Her thoughts were instead filled with the happenings this morning.<p>

"_This 'clumsy' girl some person is talking about is none other than my girlfriend._"

She slapped her face with her wet hands, sputtering water droplets on her slightly disheveled hair.

_Oh, Mikan Sakura, what did you just get yourself into?_

She heard the restroom open. She eventually lifted her hands off her face and turned to see who just came in.

It was Luna, who seemed to be surprised she was in the restroom, too. She smiled lightly for a greeting, and proceeded to the sink to wash her hands. After she turned off the faucet and wiggled her hands to dry, Luna faced her. Mikan gulped nervously.

"You're Natsume's companion a while ago, right?"

She nodded in reply, words suddenly caught up in her throat.

"I heard you're his girlfriend. Is it true?"

Mikan blinked at her question, baffled that she asked her about it personally. Is this her first task for her "Pretend to be Natsume Hyuuga's girlfriend" job? Well, she'd better do this one properly.

"Y-Y-Yes. Why'd you ask?"

Luna didn't answer her, though. Her gaze just bore on her for seconds, and she gulped once more.

But unexpectedly, her face brightened up, and with an outstretched hand, she said with the same sunny tone, "It's nice to meet you! I'm Luna Koizumi."

She was taken aback at this gesture, but she decided to just go along. She grinned cheerfully and received Luna's handshake. "Mikan Sakura. Nice to meet you, too! I remember your performance yesterday, actually!"

"I remember yours, too."

Mikan smiled, but deep inside she wondered who Luna was and what her connection was to Natsume, remembering how she paid attention to him during the Open The Basket game. Anyways, she'll find that out soon.

Wait. Why was she even interested about the brat's background? _This is creepy, Mikan. Waaaaaay creepy._

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Does anyone not understand the instructions for Open The Basket? I've always known myself as one who's baaaad at explaining. ._. Really. I hope you did understand, though. That would mean an improvement on my part, yayy.

School's fast approaching; two weeks until I head to Fourth Year. ;-; _Yes, girl, two weeks, and you haven't published a story specially made for May Madness. Ugh to the nth power. _So I hope you don't mind expecting for later updates. Have to exert more effort this time, now that it's the last year of high school. /stressoverload

Anyway, care to leave a review? :)


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